A Dublin Runaround

When I heard that I’d be going to Dublin about 40 hours after arriving back from nice sunny…warm…sunny…warm…did I mention sunny…Australia, there weren’t many positive thoughts in my head.  There’s nothing wrong with Dublin – it’s just that (like my hometown of Seattle), there’s very little sun and warmth this time of year.

But, off I went.

I had a early Monday morning flight up there, which in theory would have allowed me plenty of time to get a nice easy Z2 run in for about 40-50 minutes before my meetings started at 2PM.  In reality though, the inbound flight from Dublin was late by a bunch which in turn caused my flight to be late.  So by time I got to the hotel it was pushing closer to 12:30.

I did what was probably the fastest turnaround I’ve done in a hotel and was out the door in 2-3 minutes, ready to run.  I had even pre-placed an order for lunch with room service (since no lunch was being served in meetings).  I was pretty proud of myself for thinking ahead.

Anyway…here I am, on the street corner.

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Only a few short blocks away was probably the most well maintained and sparkling building I saw during my run – the Royal Dublin Society.  Somewhere behind the stone façade are all sorts of fancy places for horses to dance around.  But they also do various other events there as well.

 

 

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The neighborhood I was in was largely just that…a nice neighborhood.  And obviously, given I was in Dublin – there were just as many pubs as there would be Starbucks in Seattle.

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A short bit later I ran past the US Embassy.  Amazing how much smaller it is (and less fortified looking) than the one at home in Paris.

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I was impressed with how many cycle tracks there were across the sections of the city I was on.  Most of the roads I seemed to be running on had dedicated bike lanes.  Interestingly, the bike lanes had different times on them.  I assume that outside of those times you’re allowed to park there (in a car).  The below section was the least restrictive, compared to others I saw that were more like HOV lanes as far as hours go (7-9AM, 4-6PM).

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My initial goal upon landing in Dublin was to run just far enough to make it to the Guinness plant.  It would have been almost 14 years to the day since I’d been there last.  See, in high school my marching band (inclusive of me) came over to Dublin to play in the St. Patrick’s Day parade and with this being the day after St. Patrick’s Day – the timing would have been right.

But given the flight delays I was very tight on time, and just couldn’t afford to run the extra 1-2 kilometers that I believe it was from where I had to make the turnaround.  So instead, here’s a building with another beer company on the side of it.

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On the bright side, I did see a street carnival.  Which, would probably encapsulate the only happy people this morning in Dublin.  Everyone else was no doubt at home still nursing the hangover.

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Next along the way was the famous Trinity College.  This isn’t exactly the best picture, but it’s what I’ve got.  No stopping and all.

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The tour and charter buses were out in full force today.  Tons of tourists still there from the weekend.

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And stores like these were definitely selling plenty of goods.  The airport check-in line the next day was packed with people wearing all sorts of lucky charms type stuff.

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Eventually, I arrived at the river.  If I had more time, I would have continued on quite a bit longer along the river – as it was a nice place to run.  But being time-constrained, I just ran to that next bridge you see in this picture, before crossing the bridge and turning around.

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More pubs!  It’s funny, I think all the pubs got a deal on those balloon twisty wraps.  Airport had them as well, almost all identical.

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Along the water really was a nice place to run – and for a brief few moments I even had some sun!

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Note the brightness, yes, it’s sun!  And of course, more balloon twisty wraps.

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Mmm…green M&M’s!

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I started working my way back, along mostly the same route as the way out. Time for getting lost this was not!

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Back past Trinity College (seen above/below).

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Along the way I stumbled into this guy.

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So naturally, I took a photo with him.  Well, ‘with’ is probably a bit strong.  More like ‘he was in the same frame even though he didn’t know it’.

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Like many European cities, Dublin has a bike-share program.  The system uses near identical bikes and stations as the Paris system.

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Last but not least, the Dublin Bus Tour.  No, I didn’t get on the bus – I just did the tour via running instead.  Unfortunately, this would be my last photo as my little point and shoot camera battery ran out about a block later.

No worries though, I wasn’t too far from the hotel.

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Here’s my total route – 40 minutes worth of running, about 5.6 miles, or approximately 9K.  You can view the Strava file here.

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As always, thanks for reading!  And hope everyone has a great weekend ahead!

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23 Comments

  1. Next time there, you should try to hit up a run in Phoenix Park. It’s an awesome spot right in the city. Wild deer running all around. I think they call it the largest urban park in the world (bigger than Central Park)!

  2. Jameson W

    Could just be me, but I thought it was interesting that the bar in that picture is flying an American flag, neat!

    • BillM

      I’ve no doubt that there would have been plenty of other American flags flying in Dublin that week. A fair smattering of Americans have Irish ancestors, and many Irish continue to emigrate to USA so its a bit like putting out a flag for the cousins.

  3. Stephen Murphy

    Tough going keeping a consistent pace on a route like that, quite a lot of pedestrians to avoid, Phoenix Park is definitely the place to get a solid run in if you’re sticking to the city centre

  4. Thor R

    Thanks Ray. I’m enjoying all these travel updates as much as the reviews. I’ve done a fair bit of worldwide travel and it’s cool to both see what’s changed (or unchanged) since I last visited and through someone else’s eyes.

  5. zlokroshka

    Year ago had almost the same run, but before main St. Patrick celebration. City was full of debris due to Friday night parties, the only place of cerenity was the Phoenix park, with deers :)

  6. Hugh B

    Can’t believe you were in Dublin! I work at the Guinness brewery so if you come back let me know and I’ll organise a tour and the Phoenix Park is only half a mile away or a cool run

  7. George Schlossnagle

    The river (canal, actually) is a great run. Once you get about 2 miles from the sea it really thins out (and goes through some urban wasteland/projects areas), but is flat, fast and unpopulated. You can go quite a ways on it.

  8. BR

    Ray, that leprechaun you photographed with yourself is stationed beside the Molly Malone statue, and is there to make a bit of income from the steady stream of tourists photographing themselves with the statue. You’re very lucky you weren’t “encouraged” to make a donation…

  9. Dan

    Great post and great pictures, as always. I have the same Panasonic camera, and I’m curious where you carry it when you run.

    • Ray Maker

      For shorter runs (under 90 minutes), I’m likely to just hand-hold it. For longer runs, I’ll either stash it in a Spibelt (“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QQTDA2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004QQTDA2&linkCode=as2&tag=dcr07-20) or a CamelBak if I’m wearing one.

    • Dan

      Got it. I have a love hate relationship with my Spibelt. I love that I can securely keep stuff with me, but I hate that it seemed to press on my bladder for all of 26.2 in LA last weekend. I’ll give it a try with the camera some time though. Thanks!

  10. Rhona

    Wow I can’t believe you were in Dublin Ray!! I live around the corner from the Guinness Brewery (and pass by that lepruchaun a lot)! It’s so cool to see our capital from your point of view. Hope you enjoyed your quick run around the city streets and like other posters said above, be sure to let us know if you are returning to Dublin so we can take you to the lovely Phoenix park or if you’re returning to other parts of Ireland, so we can suggest nice running spots in Cork or Galway!
    :-)

  11. Larry

    Thanks so much for the mini tour of Dublin, very enjoyable

  12. I am seriously impressed with your dedication. If I had an hour and a half, pretty sure I would have ordered room service and called it a day. Way to go! And to inspire me!

  13. Bcvelo

    Hey Ray –

    Any tips on keeping all the gadgets charged while traveling? I also travel a lot and have had too many instances when I head out for a run or bike and something runs out if juice.

    Thanks!

    • Ray Maker

      I try and always charge everything at night. And sometimes (if it’s a flying day), I’ll set an alarm at something like 4AM just to wake up, swap batteries/devices/etc… and then fall back asleep.

      I also have a small iPhone charging case which works well. And then I have two USB charging batteries (about the size of a phone), which can easily charge a phone about 50-70%, and most sports gadgets to enough for a workout.

  14. Mark

    2-3 minute turnaround at the hotel!? You must have been pretty much dressed to run on the plane!

    • Ray Maker

      I had my running stuff on top, so it was literally run into the room, throw on shorts/t-shirt/shoes, and run out… put my HR strap on in the elevator and out the front door. Quick!

  15. I’ve done a ton of travelling and sightseeing and I’ve done a ton of running and cycling but usually the former cancelled out the latter. Nowadays I combine them and enjoy both even more. And I’m totally with you @Christy, it’s wildly tempting to skip runs when you’re traveling, business or leisure. Luckily my hero-worship of DC Rainmaker provides good motivation to get out the door. :)

  16. Laura

    Reason you say so many ‘twisty balloons’ was by the date you posted you were there around Paddys week….where every is covered by green!

  17. Anybody an idea, where to hire touring bikes? I am planning a biketrip to Ireland with my daughter (11 years) from B&B to B&B. Not having an idea yet, where to go…any suggestions?

    thanx for infos Gero